Beyond the Walls
by celestialskyes18
Summary: They promised him that they'll play together in a place called beach. They promised him that they'll see the ocean. But HE promised him that he'll take him beyond the walls.


**Beyond the Walls**

**Hannah Leah Marie Puzon**

It was a perfectly fine day. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear. Birds flew across the sky and the people were doing their work peacefully inside the walls. It seemed normal, but it was the day for the whole mankind to remember the tragic deaths of their heroes.

Eren looked at the calendar and sighed, "It's finally August 20." He stood and grabbed the bouquet of flowers on the desk across his seat.

He was with the corporal, who was busy cleaning his own desk. "Oi, Eren. You left some flower petals on the desk." He sounded irritated as he picked up the flower petals and threw them outside the window. Of course, he's considered as a clean freak.

"I'm sorry, corporal. But will you forgive me just for today only?"

"Today?" Levi clicked his tongue. "You're going to pay them a visit?"

Eren nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Then let me come with you," Levi said as he headed for the door and the younger male followed. That was very unusual for the corporal to accompany Eren. But for that special place they are going to, he just had to accompany him.

They walked somewhere far from the city. They walked along a large grass field with a lot of flowers of different kinds. It was a really pretty place, but no one could be seen. Rather, no one was there. That very beautiful place was left undisturbed. As they walked farther, couple of gravestones could be seen and Eren immediately ran towards that area.

"Uggh. That bitch left me," Levi complained.

Eren's eyes turned teary as he stood in front of a gravestone with the name "Mikasa" engraved on it. And very soon, tears fell from his eyes as Levi stood behind him. "I'm sorry, Mikasa…" Eren knelt down and placed the bouquet on it.

"Ackerman…is a good person. She never failed to protect you."

Eren nodded and wiped his tears, "But because she protected me, she ended up dying. I am a horrible friend! A lot of people died because of me! Armin died to protect me as well!" His words sounded like a shout.

"Don't blame yourself, Jaeger…"

"Why?!" Eren turned to him, "don't pretend that it's not true, corporal! They died because I failed to protect them! I was also the one who took away the lives of your squad members!"

Hearing the word "squad" made Levi annoyed. It reminded him of the day when he found his squad's bloody corpses in the forest when they failed to capture the female titan. Reminiscing the past made him feel nauseous. "Just stop it, Jaeger. Stop it…"

Eren sniffed, "They…they all died protecting me…"

The raven-haired corporal sighed and patted the younger boy's shoulder, "We cannot bring back the past, Jaeger. Don't blame yourself. They told you to trust them, and you did. Doing that is already enough for them."

There was silence for a while. "Today is August 20, right? How come we're the only ones in the Valley of Heroes? How come they're not mourning for their loved ones? How come they didn't visit the heroes?"

"The dear are never dead to us until we forget them. The other graves you see there with no flowers are forgotten. They, who risked their lives, were forgotten by the people they saved. Someday, it'll be like this when I die. We will all be forgotten."

Eren flashed a faint smile on his face, "At least the dead are lucky. When they die, they get to see and go to a place beyond those walls…"

"They get to see and go to a place beyond the walls? Don't say such things, Jaeger. As long as we live, we have the capacity to fight until our deaths. I told you before that I don't care which option you'll choose, just don't regret the things you've done."

"But corporal…"

"Cry for those you couldn't save then stand up and fight again."

Eren looked at the clouds above them as the wind gently blew across his face. "Come to think of it, Mikasa and Armin promised that we'll see those places beyond the walls like the land of snow. But now that they're gone, I know that it'll never happen…"

"Oh, Jaeger. Just because they're dead, you can't go to those places. They'll always be there for you, speaking through your inner voice."

Tears fell from Eren's eyes when images of Mikasa and Armin flashed into his mind. "I-I know that, corporal. But they promised that they'll take me there! They promised that we'll play together on the sand in a place called beach. They promised that we'll swim in the ocean! They promised that we'll make snowmen in the land of snow! They promised-"

Eren's eyes suddenly widened when he felt Levi's lips on his forehead, "Don't worry, Jaeger. I'll take you beyond those walls. I promise."


End file.
